Tile floor and method of producing



Jan. 28, 1941.

Filed Sept. l5, 1957 Y /i/a a :1L-- :M L

FIIGJ. v-2 F/QE.

CZ k 7o-?? @ya 1270/? Patented J'an. 28, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE John R. Kauffman, Milltown, N. J., assignor to Barber Asphalt Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Application September 15, 1937, Serial No. 163,936

This invention relates to a tile structure and method for its production.

Heretofore, as is well known, it has lbeen customary in the production of tile structures, as tile oors, walls, ceilings, roof decks, and th like, to provide a relatively thick base of concrete on which tiles are set ina bed of Portland cement mortar, or other hydraulic cement mortar. The construction is completed by grouting the tiles with Portland cement mortar or other formof hydraulic cement mortar. c

In the construction of tile structures, as, for example, tile oors, heretofore, it has been necessary to provide a con-crete base of very substantial thickness in order that it have sufcient rigidity and, resistance to fracture to support the tile. In view of the required very substantial thickness of the concrete bed heretofore provided in'tile floor construction, it has been impractical to lay tile ors over original floors, since the thickness of the concrete bed would raise the surface of the tile very considerably above the surface of adjacent floors. It has been necessary heretofore in new construction. to provide for the necessary concretebase so that the surface of the tile Vwhen set will be level with adjoining floors and in the case of old construction, Where a tile oor is to be laid, it has been necessary to remove the original :door and cut away the upper 30^portion of the oor timbers to provide for the concrete base.

Thus, heretofore the construciton of tile`strucr tures involved careful consideration and presented a substantial expense in providing therefore in culty and expense in old construction.

`Further, tile structures as heretofore constructedpresented very substantial difficulty and was generally unsatisfactory when formed in or 40 -on-a structure subject to vibration, as,`for exs ample, the deck of a ship.

Walls, ceilings, roof` decks, -and `fth'ejlike," and method for its' construction is providedjof such a character as'to enable' the'layingof tilestructures with efficiency and economy in` either new resiliency, as the decks of ships.y

Essentially, in accordance with this invention, there `is provided a thin setting bed. and one having a substantial degree of `flexibility in which the tiles are set directly and, desirably thoughf` not' new construction and presented substantial diiii` 'sand where thevjointsarenarrow. l

4ras a' woodforconcrete floor, or mall,

essentially, grouted with a mortar similar to that used in the formation of the setting bed.

By virtue of this invention tile structures may be constructed with a minimum of depth so that such structures may be laid without any special 5 preparation therefor in new construction and may equally Well be laid in old construction without specialpreparation. Thus, for example, tile floors in accordance with this invention may be laid on any type of original ooring,aswoodoor 10 ing, concrete, metal, or the like, it being only necessary that the ooring or base upon which the tile oor is laid be rm and free from undue springiness, excessive cracks, weak spots, and the like. The tile structures in accordance with this 15 'Iile structure in accordance with this invention from the broad standpoint will comprise 'a base which may comprise an old or new floor, wall or deckof Wood, concrete, metal, or the like, and a setting bed in which the tile is set, comprising 30 a mortar including a bitumen and a hydraulic cement, bywhich term I intend to include Portland cement, high alumina cement, pozzulana and other natural cements/Keenes cement, plaster, and the'like. The mortar will desirablyalso 35 include an aggregate, as sand.

With more particularity, the base, whether of board, concrete, built-up roofing or metal, will behdes'irably primed with a bitumen, also, the backs of the tile will be primed Withbitumen. 40

K I y vThe edges of the tile may, if desired, alsoy be Now, in accordancewithfthis "inven'tiona tilei'i l structure adaptable for the' formaton'of floors,

48 The tiles 'willfbewgrouted and mayybegrouted.

y'fwith anysuitable material; `Howevvendeslrably, or old construction and also of such acharacter as to enable the laying of suchstr'uctures with 50, complete satisfactioninor on structureshaving -theywill'be grouted withfa bitumen-hydraulic cm'entmortar, which'will bedesirablyfree from 21 '51 50 The methody inv accordance withth's invention t *will comprise essentiallyy the ,applicationito `a base,

built-.up rooing,structure,` a metal deck, or: th ke, of a .thin bed offzbitumenhydraulic cement Amortar,

the setting of tile thereon and the grouting of the tile, more particularly, with a bitumen-hydraulic cement mortar.

Having now indicated in a general way the nature and purpose of this invention, I will proceed to a detailed description of a preferred construction of, for example, a tile floor, from and in connection with which the carrying out of the method in detail will'become apparent, all with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing the several steps and material used in the construction of a tile floor in connection with operation of the method thereof.

Figure 2 is a sectional view on line 2 2, Figure 1, showing in detail the several steps and materials used in the construction of a tile iioor in accordance with this invention and also showing in detail a completed structure.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a completed floor in accordance with this invention.

In the several figures of the drawing a indicates a base, which may be any wooden, concrete, metal, or other type of floor. The-base a may b e, for example, an area of sub-floor in a total floor of old or new construction where it is desired that the surface of the tile shall be on a level with adjacent nished flooring, as hard wood ooring.

The base a will be adequate for the construction of tile floor in accordance with this invention if it be sound and well supported and free from weak spots, cracks, or other structural defects. If it be in any way weakened or defective, it shouldbe strengthened and repaired.

'I'he base a. will be prepared by thorough cleaning. The base a having been prepared, it will be primed, with a primer b. The primer will desirably comprise a bitumen which may be applied to the floor in the form of a suitable solution or in the form of an emulsion.- By Way 0f example, an emulsion comprising 67.5 parts by weight of asphalt cement, as oil asphalt or native asphalt cement of 50 penetration at 77 F. under a load of 100 gm. acting for 5 seconds, emulsifled in 32.5 parts of a solution containing 1.2% alkali hydroxide and 2.0% sulphonated castor oil will be found to provide an adequate primer. Desirably, the primer will be applied to the base by spraying, which may be accomplished with any suitable form of spraying device. In thecase of wooden floors, two coats of primer will be desirable. .In the case of concrete floors a single coat of primer will usually be sufficient. When the base has been properly primed, if it be of wood, a wiremesh c, or expanded metal lath, or the like, which will engage, reinforce and secure a setting bed to the base, will desirably be secured to the surface of the base a by means of nails, staples, or other suitable means. The wire mesh, expanded metal, or the like, will beadesirably painted or galvanized and may, if desired, after it is fixed to the base, be coated with primer similar to that applied .to the base.

The base having been primed, if the base be of concrete, or the like, or if the base be of wood having been primed and a wire mesh, expanded metal lath, or the like having been secured to the surface thereof, a thin setting bed for the tile is formed by application to the base, as by troweling, of a mortar comprising essentially bitumen and hydraulic cement. The mortar will onto and through the wire mesh c, if such be used.

Where the base a comprises a concrete, or the like floor, the use of a wire mesh or of metal lath, or the like, is not essential, inasmuch as the' base will have sufcient rigidity to render the use of wire mesh, metal lath, or the like. unnecessary, though such may be used if desired.

The bitumen-hydraulic cement mortar may vary widely in composition and may comprise various cements as defined above. `However, .by

way of illustration, a satisfactory mortar and one which will provide a highly efficient setting bed may be made up on. the following formula:

Pounds Portland cement 90 Sodium metasilicate solution (2 lb./gal. of

water) Bituminous emulsion 64 sand 300 The bituminous emulsion used in the above formula may vary widely in composition. However, it will be of such a character as to resist breaking on mixing with the Portland cement and will desirably include as the emulsifying agent an emulsifler such as clay, waste sulphite liquor, petroleum sulphonate, or the like.

The bituminous emulsion may be the same as that described above for use in priming the base a. Thus, it may comprise 67.5 parts of an oil or native asphalt cement of 50 penetration at 77 F. under a load of 100 gm. acting for 5 seconds, emulsified in 32.5 parts of a solution containing 1.2% alkali hydroxide and 2.0% sulphonated castor oil. The amount of water added to the mixture should be gaged with respect to the water in the bituminous emulsion so that the iinal mortar will have the proper consistency for ready spreading or troweling on the floor and finishing.

In preparing the bitumen-Portland cement mortar, the sand and Portland cement will first be thoroughly mixed with thel addition of only such an amount of water as will thoroughly l dampen the mixture and make it stiff, but not over plastic. When the Portland cement and sand are thoroughly mixed, the sodium metasilicate solution is mixed in and the bituminous emulsion then gradually added with vigorous mixing.

The setting bed d may be formed in any desired manner. Preferably', and most conveniently, the mortar will be troweled or soreeded on and through the wire mesh c if used, or uniformly spread on the primed surface ofthe base, if the base be of concrete, or the like, and given a smooth, level surface nish by troweling, or with a float. The setting bed will be of suflicient thickness if it be of a thickness of say, for example, Vs" where laid over a concrete floor without the use of wire mesh, expanded metal lath, or the like, or of a thickness of 1%" measured from the tcp of the wire mesh or metal lath, where such is used, as, for example, on wooden floors.

The surface of the setting bed d having been finished. the tile e, which may be lof any desired type, aS. for example, glass tile, asphalt tile, cork tile, rubber tile, cut stone; glazed or unglazed porcelain or clay-type ceramic mosaics, paver tile, quarry tile, or the like, will then be laid upon the surface of the setting bed and gently beaten in and rubbed in the usual manner of tile setting. Desirably, the backs and also de-v sirably the edges of the tiles will be primed with a primer f of bitumen before application to the setting bed. The tiles may be primed with bituminous emulsion such as described above for priming the base a, or they may be primed with any suitable solution of bitumen and the tiles will be applied to the setting bed when the primer is dried suiliciently to rmly adhere to the tiles.

The tiles having been set in the usual manner, and the setting bed having stiffened, the tiles will then be grouted with a grout g, within the scope of which term I mean to include pointing mortars, and the like. The grouting may be of any desired composition, but preferably the tiles will be grouted with the same mortar as that forming the setting bed, with omission ofthe sand if the joints are narrow. Y

It will now be observed that the tile structure in accordance with this invention presents the great advantage of thinness and lightness of weight as compared with the relatively great thickness and weight of tile structures as heretofore produced. The structure in accordance with this invention will have the further very great advantage that the setting bed d, despite its relative thinness, will have great strength and, at the same time, substantial resiliency, thus permitting the laying of the tile structure without the requirement for any special form of base and upon bases having themselves a certain amount of resiliency and subject to vibration, as, for example, the decks of ships.

It will be understood that various modications in detail may be made in the structure in accordance with this invention as described above and in the method for its production without, however, departing from the scope of this invention.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A tile structure comprising a base, a setting bed of bituminous mortar including bitumen, an aggregate and hydraulic cement laid on said base, the aggregate and hydraulic cement together being in amount in excess of the amount of bitumen by Weight, a plurality of individual tiles set in said bed in spaced relation and grou-ting filling the spaces between the tiles.

2. The method of forming a tile structure which includes forming on a base a setting bed comprising a plastic mixture of bitumen, Water, aggregate and hydraulic cement in which the aggregate and hydraulic cement together are in an amount in excess oi the amount of bitumen by weight and setting tile in the bed while the bed is still plastic and before the hydraulic cement becomes hydrated.

3. The method of forming a. tile structure which includes coating a base with bitumen,

forming on the coated base a setting bed comprising a plastic mixture of bitumen, water, sand and hydraulic cement in which the aggregate and hydraulic cement together are in an amount in excess of the amount of bitumen by weight and setting tile in the bed while the bed is still plastic and lbefore the hydraulic cement becomes hydrated.

4. 'Ihe method of forming a tile structure which includes providing a base, applying-to the base a mortar comprising a mixture of hydraulic cement and a bituminous emulsion of the oil-in- Water type, in which the hydraulic cement is in amount in excess of the amount of bitumen contained in the emulsion by weight, for the forma- A tion of a setting bed and setting tile in the bed while the bed is in a plastic condition and before the hydraulic cement becomes hydrated.

5. A tile structure comprising a base, a setting bed of bituminous mortar, including bitumen and hydraulic cement, laid on said base, the hydraulic cement being in amount in excess of the amount of bitumen by weight, and a plurality of individual tiles set in said bed.

6. A tile structure comprising a base, a setting bed of bituminous mortar, including bitumen, an aggregate and Portland cement laid on said base, the Portland cement being in amount in excess of the amount of bitumen by weight, and a plurality of individual` tiles set in said bed.

7. A tile structure comprising a base, a setting bed of bituminous concrete including bitumen, an aggregate and a hydrated hydraulic cement superimposed on said base, the hydrated hydraulic cement being in amount in excess of the amount of bitumen by weight, and a plurality of individual tiles set in said bed.

8. A tile structure comprising a base, a coating of bitumen on said base, a setting bed comprising bitumen, an aggregate and a hydrated hydraulic cement superimposed on' said bituminous. coating, the hydrated hydraulic cement being in amount in excess of the amount of bitumen by weight, and a plurality of individual tiles backcoateci with bitumen and setin said setting bed.

9. A tile structure comprising a base, a relatively thin setting bed of bituminous mortar including Ibitumen, an emulsiiying agent, an aggregate and hydraulic cement laid on said base', the hydraulic cement being in amount in excess of the amount of bitumen by weight, and a plurality of individual tiles set in said bed.

J OHN R. KAUFFMAN. 

